“Ready?” Pinebogey asked.
“Yes,” I nodded.
“May the Great Forest keep you!” he pronounced solemnly.
I gave the portal ten thousand mana points and stepped forward to find myself in a spacious room like those I had seen in Mink and Badger’s world.
Before my feet hit the floor, I had activated all my shields. And just in the nick of time. The Great System basically blanketed me in damage messages. Muckwalker’s Aura took the first blow, then started to quickly fade. I didn’t realize right away what exactly was attacking me. But when I figured it out, I wanted to turn around and high tail it back.
The system called my enemy “toxic dust.” No level, no characteristics ― yet another thing in common with Mink’s world. The dust was everywhere. It hovered by the stone walls and ceiling in shapeless blobs. It coated the floor like a thick poison-green rug. And most dangerously of all, the blobs hovered in midair. My shields, held back the thousands of flecks of toxic dust like very fine nets, letting through only stuffy air which was quite hard to breathe. Upon touching my defenses, the dust would disappear. But as it did, it would slowly but surely take with it my precious resilience points. I need to get a move on.
I took a look around and, a step away from a narrow window which let dead dim moonlight filter into the room, I saw a sarcophagus made of a semi-transparent material, partially covered in a layer of the omnipresent dust. The sarcophagus looked most of all like a big huge cave worm grub. And that was right where the little arrow that led me into the arsenal’s basement was pointing.
I overcame the gap between the portal and sarcophagus in one long jump. As I did, I noticed that it was much easier to move here than in my world. I felt physically lighter.
I spent a second next to the window. Outside, based on the ruins, there had once been a small city. Far off on the horizon, I could see relatively intact rectangular three- and four-story buildings with flat roofs and black windows gaping with emptiness.
A-hem… Looks like this world is toast. The omnipresent dust, covering everything around like dirty snow, destroyed everything alive. There was no grass, no bushes. It had eaten everything. And if I didn’t get a move on, it would eat me, too.
I shuddered and walked up to the sarcophagus. Once next to the gigantic grub, I carefully took a peek through the cloudy glass and frowned, trying not to disturb any of the dust piles. Unbelievable…! What I saw took my breath away.
Cautiously throwing back the lid to better study the contents of the sarcophagus, then putting it all back how it was took a few minutes. Then, a few moments later, I was back in my world standing opposite Pinebogey.
“Well, what’s over there?” Pinebogey’s eyes were burning with curiosity. “Did you find his tomb?”
“I did,” I nodded, shaking off the nonexistent dust that had been left in the other world. “But Gunnar’s body was not there. Either the dust ate him, or…”
“Dust?” my friend’s bearded face stretched out.
I waved it off.
“I’ll tell you later…”
“What about your conundrum? Find an answer?”
“Now that was actually all good,” I snorted, wearily getting down on a wooden step next to the portal.
“Well?!” the woodsman blurted out impatiently, plopping down next to me.
“As it turns out, I’ve had a clue right in front of me the whole time,” I responded in perplexity, sinking my hand into my thick head of long unkempt hair.
“What do you mean?” Pinebogey frowned.
“Get this,” I snorted, shaking my head. “It is depicted on every coat of arms, every banner, every tapestry and painting…”
“What?”
“The Steel Crown,” I responded, looking deep into my friend’s eyes. “All the power of the Steel Kings’ family line is tied up in that cursed Crown! It is a unique artifact granting power over the most powerful beasts of the dark otherworld!”
Pinebogey took a loud gulp, digesting what I’d said, then raised his head and cautiously asked:
“What did you do with it?”
“Nothing,” I shrugged my shoulders and heard my buddy exhale in relief. “Let it stay where it is. That’s the best possible place for that thing right now. I don’t know how Gunnar managed to take it from its former owner. I can only guess. Most likely, many of my fellow hunters had to pay for it with their lives. I don’t want to ruin all that by bringing such a powerful artifact back into our world. Beyond that, we now know that the Steel King isn’t quite as omnipotent as most believe. At the very least, he does not have his predecessors’ magic at his disposal.”
“What about using the artifact yourself?” Pinebogey wouldn’t relent.
I shook my head.
“The Great System was very clear that it is bound by blood magic.”
“I see…” he whispered thoughtfully.
“Beyond that, it’s dark,” I added significantly. “But even without the Crown, I still have a couple aces up my sleeve.”
“What have you dreamt up now?” Pinebogey asked with hope in his voice.
“As soon as I’m done here, I will go to the gnomes,” I smiled, standing up to my full height. “A member of their royal family owes me a favor.”
Once back on the surface, I held my hand on my forehead like a visor to block the bright sunlight. The Ice Fangs were standing at the door to the arsenal waiting for me. When I appeared, Murk gave a warning growl and the warriors shuddered. I looked over them all and nodded in satisfaction. All hardened cutthroats, having been through gruesome battles with dark beasts. They were noticeably higher level than before, and I hoped their characteristics had followed suit.
After induction, they would head out to the sealed portal beyond Narrow Lake to throw in their first crystals.
And these dozen warriors would become a solid foundation for the reborn Order of Monster Hunters!
— End of Book Five—
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About the Author
Alexey Osadchuk was born in 1979 in the Ukraine. In the late 1990s his family moved to the south of Spain where they still live today.
Alexey was an avid reader from an early age, devouring adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack London and Arthur Conan Doyle.
In 2010 he wrote his first fantasy novel which was immediately accepted by one of Russia’s leading publishing houses Alpha Book.
He also used to be a passionate online gamer which prompted him to write the story of a man who joins an MMORPG game hoping to raise money for his daughter’s heart surgery. In 2013, the first book of Mirror World was published by EKSMO, Russia’s largest publishing house. The English translation of the series is now available worldwide in its entirety, prompting a reviewer to call Alexey “one of the best LitRPG authors to date”.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About the Author
Labyrinth of Fright (Underdog Book #5): LitRPG Series Page 33
